Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) opened a new three-lane bridge on Sunday as part of the Oud Metha and Al Asayel Streets Development Project, with the authority saying 90 per cent of the overall project is now complete.
The bridge handles traffic moving from Al Khail Road towards Al Asayel Street via Al Wasl Club Street, with a stated capacity of 3,600 vehicles per hour.
Two tunnels are scheduled to open by the end of August. The first will connect the service road on Oud Metha Street to the Sheikh Rashid Road intersection for traffic heading towards Bur Dubai.
The second will serve traffic coming from Dubai–Al Ain Road towards Al Wasl Club Street, addressing what the RTA described as current traffic overlaps. A further bridge, serving left-turn movements from Al Asayel Street towards Oud Metha Street, is also due to open alongside them.
“Oud Metha and Al Asayel Streets Development Project is being implemented under the directives of the wise leadership as part of the completion of Sheikh Rashid Corridor Development Project, to accommodate the requirements of urban development and population growth. The project is one of the key infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing Dubai’s road network. It includes the improvement of four major intersections, the construction of bridges and two tunnels with a total length of 4,300 metres, and roads spanning 14 kilometres.
“The project supports several service, residential and development areas, most notably Zabeel, Al Jaddaf, Oud Metha and Umm Hurair, as well as Latifa Hospital and Al Wasl Club. The population of the areas served by the project is expected to exceed 420,000 by 2030. The project will increase the capacity of Oud Metha Street from 10,400 vehicles per hour in both directions to 15,600 vehicles per hour in both directions, an increase of 50%. It will also reduce travel time from 20 minutes to 5 minutes, an improvement of 75%,” Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, Roads and Transport Authority said in a statement.
Two bridges were already opened in the first quarter of this year. One sits at the intersection of Oud Metha Street with Al Asayel Street and Al Wasl Club Street, carries two lanes and has a capacity of 2,400 vehicles per hour.
The other, at the intersection of Al Wasl Club Street with Al Khail Road, serves traffic towards Business Bay Crossing across two lanes at 3,000 vehicles per hour.
The full project covers four major intersections and includes bridges and tunnels totalling 4,300 metres in length, with roads spanning 14 kilometres.
